‘Murdered’ Russian dissident journalist shows up alive at news conference

A Russian journalist turned high-profile dissident, who Ukrainian officials said was assassinated yesterday in Kiev by suspected Kremlin operatives, is actually alive and well.

The Ukrainian government declared yesterday that the journalist Arkady Babchenko was shot dead by unknown assailants. However, it turns out that Babchenko was involved in a sting operation with Ukrainian security services meant to uncover an assassination plot against him.

Whether or not the operation did in fact catch Babchenko’s would-be assassins, some may be left wondering if the tactic of faking his death could harm the credibility of the Ukrainian government. Moscow has an extensive track record when it comes to assassinating journalists, but incidents like these may sow doubt about future claims concerning the Russian government’s involvement in targeting journalists.

Being a Russian journalist is an extremely dangerous job, especially for those who attempt to shine a light on the government’s misbehavior. There have been 58 journalists killed in Russia since 1992. Many of those deaths are linked to the Kremlin.

#mc_embed_signup{background:#fff; clear:left; font:14px; }

/* Add your own MailChimp form style overrides in your site stylesheet or in this style block.

We recommend moving this block and the preceding CSS link to the HEAD of your HTML file. */